Golf club and home practicing device



Aug; 4, 1931. J. B. HENDERSON ,8

' GOLF CLUB AND HOME PRACTICING DEVICE Filed Feb. 17, 1927 ZSheets-Sheet 1 /o l 77!}, 4Q.

bf llllllllgd Inventor Jarrzesflheniiersorr Jim/-12 gays Aug. 4, 1931. J. B. HENDERSON 1,817,896

- GOLF CLUB AND HOME PRACTICING' DEVICE I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 172067260? J'aanesBJZncZerson B Q jfm 1244' .Attoimgys Patented Aug. 4, 1933.

PATENT GFFHQE JAMES BLACKLQCK HENDERSON, GE BLAGKI-IEATI-L ENGLAND GOLF CLUB AND HOME PBACTICING DEVICE Application filed February 17, 1927, Serial No. 168,973, and in Great Britain Gctober 18, 1926.

M5 the orientation of the driving face of the club in the position of impact with the ball and may also know which of two angular adjustments of the club face must be made to correct the error. It is notorious that in golf the it) only practice which is efiective is that on the links actually playing a ball and that even then it is diflicult for the expert, and practically impossible for the beginner, to determine what faults he is committing if he is off his game. To swing a club indoors for practice is practically useless .and is in fact often the cause of acquiring habits which lead to mistakes in actual play. My invention for the first time gives'the golfer definite information as to the exact position of the club face at the moment of impact with a ball, real or imaginary, so that mistakes can be instantly detected and bad habits eradicated either in actual play out of doors or in practice at home. Home practice without a ball can thus be made a direct means to improving ones game and need no longer be re arded as a source of bad habits.

The first essential for an effective stroke at golf is that the normal to the driving face of the club at the moment of impact with the ball shall lie along the required trajectory of the ball. Heretofore no one seems to have devised a means of testing whether this first essential is satisfied or not during practice without a ball, but these means are now provided by my invention.

- The means provided are best described by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 illustrates one adaptation of my in vention, in which a single reflector is used.

Fig. 2 shows another adaptation employ- 5 ing two reflectors and two sources of light.

Fig. 3 is the preferred form of the invention, employing two reflectors and one source of light.

Figs. 4a and ll) show respectively a sec- Y 0 tional elevation and plan of one arrangement for fixing the reflectors to the head of a wooden club.

Figs. 5a .and 55 show an attachment for riveting to iron clubs.

Figs. 6a and 6b are sectional elevation and plan of a universally adjustable attachment for use with drivers and the like.

Figs. 7a and 7?) show sectional elevation and part plan of a universally adjustable attachment for use with iron clubs. 0

Figs. 8a and 8?) show elevation and plan of an alternative adjustable attachment for wooden clubs.

Figs. 9 and 10 show club heads fitted with detachable weights to compensate the weight 0., of the reflectors when in use.

Fig. 11 shows an arrangement for obtaining a line of light when practicing with a ball out of doors.

Referring to Fig. 1 the club head 1 has a driving face 2, the centre of which is 0. Three axes, OX, CY and OZ are drawn through 0, OY being vertical, OX horizontal in the plane of the club face and OZ horizont-al and at right angles to both OX and OY. ON is the normal to the driving face 2. At the moment of impact with the ball, real or supposed, it is required that ON shall lie along the required trajectory of the ball. Y

Suppose that a beam of light were pro- 80 jected back along the required trajectory towards O and that a reflector 3 were lined to the club face 2 and so oriented that when the club head is in the correct position of address the beam NO is reflected up to the players eye at E. If the player now swings his club he will see a flash of light from the mirror as the club head passes through the position of address, provided that the club face is at that moment in the required plane at right angles to the trajectory ON. If he sees no flash at all, or if he sees it too soon or too late he knows that the club head has been wrongly oriented at the moment of supposed impact and that if he had been playing a real ball, the ball would not have been struck along the required path ON. With this mechanism, however, the player could not tell whether the club face had been wrongly oriented about OX or OY. Incorrect orientation about OX is the error known as hands lagging or hands leading, causing the flash to occur late or early respectively. An error in orientation about the axis OY, known as nose of the club in (or out) will simi larly displace the position 01" the flash, or it serious may show no flash at all. Rotation of the club head about OZ caused by r: l g or lowering the hands does not affect the trajectory but will prevent the play r from seeing any flash. lVith the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 it is therefore obvious that a player would be aware that he is making mis-al but he could not detect which mistake or mistakes he is makin It is therefore necessary to provide separate means to det ct separate errors, particularly errors in orientation about the axes OX and OY. One such arrangement is shown in Fi 2.

On the top of the club head 1 a metal plate 4 is fixed by wood screws 5. The plate 4: has two metallic reflectors 6 and 7 soldered or a portion of its image in 6 is seen by thplayer in the position of address, and I place a second line of light lamp 9 equidistant :rom the mirror 7 in the direction OX, the reflector 7 being inclined so that the player a so sees a portion of the image of 9 in the mirror 7 in the position of address. It the player noW swings his club as in a drive he ought to see two simultaneous flashes, one in eacii mirror, at the moment when the club face meets the supposed ball. If the club face is wrongly adjusted by one degree about OX the flash from mirror 6 will occur about one inch too soon or too late, hands leading making it occur early. Similarly if the club face is incorrectly oriented about the axis OY by one degree, the flash in mirror 7 will cur about one inch too soon or too lane. R0,- tation about OX, however, will also affect the position of the flash from mirror 7, but rotation about OY will not ailcct the flash from mirror 6.

Fig. 3 shows a better arrangement in which I employ only one lamp and which ll pre because it makes the two flashes more independent, one flash denoting approximately rotation around OX and the other that about OY. The plate l in this case is shown wedge shaped and carries the plain reflector 6 and a double reflector 10 consisting of two metall c reflectors 10a, and 10?) substantially at right angles to each other, the line of intersection of their faces being parallel to the reflector 6 and also to the driving face A line of light lamp ll, placed from 1 to 6 feet a r-ray, the distance altering the sensitiveness, is so placed that in the position of address the player sees a portion of its image in both reflectors 6 and 10. The wedge l is introduced to give the lamp 11 an elevation of about l5 in the position of address and so make the sensitiveness of both mirrors the same, though this is not essential. The line of light from the player s eye to the club head is generally inclined more steeply than l5 and if the mirrors were horizontal he necessary higher elevation of the lamp 11 would diminish the sensitiveness oi the mirror 10. It is possible to increase "his sensitiveness by other means, as will be l'CIQlTQfl to later, so that the 45 angle is not necessary elevation for equal sensitiveness. ie mirrors 6 and 10 respectively give accurately the adjustments about two axes OX and OY turned around OZ through the angle of the wedge a.

The line of light lamp eliminates the necessity for adjustment about OZ to make the hash visible, but instead of a line of light amp as source I may alternatively use an ordinary lamp and make the surface of the mirror (i and one of the reflectors 10a or 10?) or both cylindrical. the axis of the cylinder being parallel to OZ in the case of the mirror (5 and parallel to the 455 end edge in 10a or 106. The cylindrical reflector may be either convex or concave. Each form would equally eliminate the adjustment about OZ but the appearance of the flash would differ in the two cases. if the mirror is convex, the flash, instead of being the full size of the mirror, would be reduced t line of light whose length is equal to the width of the mirror.

I may also vary the sensitiveness of the device by making one or more of the reflectors concave or convex in two planes, which dis.- places the image of the light in the mirror further from or nearer to the mirror and so alters the sensitiveness though the light itself had been moved further away or brought nearer to the club so to increase or decrease the lateral displacement of the flash for a given displacement of the club head around the axes OX or OY. The reflector may be either spherical or astigmatic.

Figures lto 8 show various methods of attaching the device to the club head...

La and 4;?) show sectional elevation and plan of an arrangement of mirrors similar to Fig. 3 for attachment to wooden clubs. The plate i carrying the reflectors 6 and 10 is perinai'iently fixed to the club head by screws, a flat being previously cut or iiled on the club head, at the correct angle, to receive Figs. 5a and 5.72 show a method of attaching the reflectors by rivets to the blade of an iron club.

Figs. 6a and 67) show sectional elevation and plan of an adjwtable attachment for the mirrors for use a wooden clubs. The plate l carrying the reflectors G and 10 has a spherical seat 15 engaging with a circular washer 16 and the single fixing screw 17 has a concentric spherical head, so that by slightly slackening the screw the plate 4 can be angled in any of the three planes about OX, OY, OZ and adjusted to reflect the light into the players eye in the position of address and then fixed in position by tightening the screw. It will be understood that angling the plate 4 about the reflecting edge of the mirror 10, i. e. about OX in Fig. 3 hasno effect on the flash from 10 but only aflects the flash from 6, while angling the plate about the axis OY (Fig. 3) only affects the flash from 10 and not that from 6.

Figs. 7a and Tb are sectional elevation and part plan of a similar type of fixing to Fig. 6 but adapted for attachment to iron clubs. The drawings are self-explanatory.

Figs. 8a and 86 show an arrangement similar to Fig. 4 but attached to the club by three screws 18 with spring washers 19 below the plate so as to be adjustable about any hori- Zontal axis.

The additional weight of the reflectors naturally affects the swing of the club and in wooden clubs for practice the additional weight can be compensated by removing some of the lead from the club head, as the amount of lead usually employed in such clubs exceeds in weight the weight of the device. In iron clubs I may reduce the weight of the reflectors and their attachments to a minimum'by using duralumin or other light alloy and I may construct club heads specially to take the reflectors with removable weights equivalent to the weight of the re flector, these detachable weights being removed when the device is attached.

Fig. 9 shows a section of a wooden club with a detachable weight. The weight 20 is set in a recess 21 in the club head and is fixed by a screw 22.

10 shows a section of an iron club head also fitted with a detachable weight 24 fitted into a recess 25 in the back of the blade and fixed by a screw 26.

The invention is applicable to practice out of doors with a ball as well as at home without one. There is of course no objection to practicing out of doors without a ball, but by using a ball interesting comparisons can be made between the practice swing, watch-.

ing the flash, and the resultant tr vel of the ball. For this purpose I employ, in place of the line of light lamp, a device shown in Fig. 11. It consists of a slotted screen, which may consist of a broad board 31 with a rotatable dial 32 in its centre having a slot 33 across it, the slot being ,4 to 1 wide, arranged on any suitable stand so that the screen'is inclined to the ground at about The screen should be painted dull black and should be situated so that the slot is illuminated by the sky behind or by a lamp. By teeing a ball in the plane containing the slot and the players eye and, say, two or three feet away from it the ball may be played and the flashes from the reflectors simultaneously observed. In this way a player may learn the position of the flashes for a good stroke with his particular stance and particular method of holding the club and of swinging it, and will then be able to practise that particular swing at home without a ball or in actual play without the reflectors.

I have assumed so far that in the position of address the ball is centrally placed relatively to the player, a position frequently used with lofted iron or wooden clubs. The position of address varies considerably with the club used and with the same club used by different players but in general the position of the ball moves to the left of the centre as the loft on the club decreases and for a driver may be opposite or even beyond the left foot position. In order to deal adequately with all positions of address I have devised the universal adjustment shown in Figs. 6a, 6b and Figs. 7a, 7?). I choose the position of the ball and of the lamp in relation to the stance so that the lamp, the centre of the players head and the reflectors are all in the same plane when the club head is in the position of striking the ball, this plane being either vertical or inclined and no great accuracy being required.

First consider this plane to be vertical. If the line of light is vertical it remains vertical and if inclined at 45 to the horizontal it remains so but is pointed at the players head so that it will not be square to the trajectory unless the ball is opposite the centre of the players body. The reflectors must then be adjusted on the club head by means of the universal attachment so that the reflecting edge of the mirrors l0 lies in this same vertical plane when in the position of address, and the reflectors are angled about this edge and in the vertical plane until the player sees the reflection of the line of light in both mirrors at the moment of impact. Some players turn their club around OZ between address and swing so much that the length of the line of light may be insufficient to cope with it, in which case an adjustment of the lamp parallel with the line of light or towards the player may be necessary to make the flashes visible.

Next consider the case in which in every stance the relative positions of the ball, lamp and player are so arranged that the line of light, the two reflectors and the centre of the playe-rs head all lie in a plane which is at right angles to the plane of the trajectory though possibly inclined to the vertical. (In

the case first considered the plane is vertical but is inclined to the plane of the trajectory unless the player is standing exactly opposite the ball.) This method has the advantage that less adjustment of the reflectors is well known optical equivalent, such as glass mirrors, or glass prisms used either as reflectors or refractors, or lenses either alone or in conjunction with reflectors.

Vfhereas I have described my invention so far, as means for indicating t the user of the golf club the orientation of the face of the golf club at or near the position of impact, it is obvious that the same means may be used to indicate the orientation of the face of the golf club to someone other than the user of the club say to a teacher who is instructing the user in the art of golf and the same reflectors on the golf club'may be used to indicate the orientation to both the user and the instructor by suitably placing a line of light for each of them and taking up certain positions relatively thereto. Thus if the instructor stands facing the user .of the club and beyond the hall a line of light suitably placed behind the user and visible between his legs or placed immediately in front of him and between him and the ball would give flashes in the reflectors on the club head which would be seen by the instructor and would indicate to him the orientation of the club face at the time of impact.

I claim 1. The combination with a golf club, of appliance for practicing the game of golf comprising two reflectors attached to the golf club and each arranged to reflect in a predetermined direction towards the eye of a playanalyzing person a beam from an eX- ternal source of light when the club is correctly oriented adjacent to the ball.

2. The combination with a golf club, of appliances for practicing the game of golf comprising two reflectors attached to the golf club and arranged to reflectby double reflection in a predetermined direction a single image of an external source of light when the club is correctly orient-ed adjacent to the ball.

3. The combination with a golf club, of appliances for practicing the game of golf comprising a double and a single refl ctor attached to the golf club and arranged to pro vide two images of a single source of light when correctly oriented adjacent to the ball.

4. The combination with a golf club, of appliances for practicing the game of golf comprising optical means to indicate the orientation of the club face about two coordinate axes at a predetermined point of the clubs swing, said means comprising a plurality of renectors attached to the club.

5. The combination with a golf club, of appliances for practicing the game of golf comprising optical means to indicate the orientation of the club face relatively to the desired trajectory substantially at the moment of impact with a ball, said means comprising a plurality of reflectors attached to the club, two of said reflectors being arranged to provide double reflection.

6. In combination, appliances for practicing the game of golf having means to indicate the orientation of the club face in relation to the desired trajectory of a ball comprising a plurality of reflectors attached to the club, and an external source of light con sisting of a line-of-light lamp.

7. In combination, appliances for practicing the game of golf having means to indicate the orientation of the club face in relation to the desired trajectory of a ball comprising a plurality of reflectors attached to the club, and an external source of light constructed to have a relatively long and narrow luminous center.

8. The combination with a golf club, of means for practicing the game of golf comprising stationary luminous line forming means, and optical means carried by the club and containing a reflector movable thereby into correlation with said luminous line forming means to flash a line of light to indicate the orientation of the club face about two co-ordinate axes.

JAMES BLACKLOCK HENDERSON. 

